Day-8: @ SAYE

Newly Acquired Church Land

SAYE @ Sunrise

11:00

There were 47 persons in attendance for the morning worship session; Sister Florence led the worship session and charged the women to wake up and take their position in Christ.It brings so much joy to just to see the level of empowerment  in the lives of some of our sisters here.

I encouraged the Church to keep the hope of our victory in Christ warm and fresh always and to know that our calling is bigger than the individual's life here on earth and for this reason we must not let the things of this life take away our hope of eternal life in the presence of God.

I gave testimony of how the enemy had attacked my pregnant wife trying to stop me from making this mission trip, the week we spent at the maternity ward thinking that our daughter might be born premature. I shared how I was almost ovewhelmed by the extreme persimism of the medical team and just how dank and gloomy their predictions had been until I came to terms with the fact that I have to ignore thier reports and believe the report of the Lord which said that "By His Stripes We are Healed" that God will cause His blessing to overflow in our lives and raise an inheritance for Himself through us Halleluja!!! I told them how God made it possible for His name to be glorified and that both mother and baby are OK and stable now. Afterward two people stood up to say that they were deeply moved and challenged because I did not give up when this problem occurred and how this has stired them to faith and deeper trust in the Lord; one of them was a nice young man named Geoffrey.

My charge was a prelude to Pablo's short sermon, he spoke on the History of Our Warfare, tracing the origin of the power struggle with the devil-The war that began in the garden of Eden and terminated with the death of God's son on a Roman cross, and of the victory that we have in Christ if we accept His ultimate sacrifice in redemption for our sins.

15 people came out during the alter call, and I prayed for their salvation and later prayed for those who want to reconcile with God and after that we entered the “Healing Has Begun” session. “Chango se Cha Kore” and we all chanted it in unison and the air was so charged with this confession, the people seemed to be ignited by the idea and we started to pray for sick people and to confess healing over their lives and their families. We prayed for healing in families and healing in relationships. That God may renew all broken relationships and families and that the power of the Holy Ghost may flow in the lives of all of us and restore us to Himself

When prayer time was over we went to see that land that has been purchased for the new church building and pray over the land for God to bring the resources for its edification

We had lunch, excellent chicken that tasted like nothing I've tasted in a long time, not for the culinary expertise applied as in the quality of chicken used. It was so good and tasted natural

15:45

Healing Has Begun!

We left Saye and headed for Sondu and Bodi and God saved us from running over a reckless motorcyclist who crossed right in front of our spreeding bus; Our Lord saved us from that trap set by the enemy to cause accident and possible death.

17:30

We arrived at Sondu and stopped to fill the tyre and refresh with some coke and stretch our legs. It had been 3 long days of steady and intensive ministration and traveling on dusty roads and wearing the same cloths.

The women on our team are really valiant, all of them have left their families to go with us and you can't help but respect the love and determination with which they served God and the passion for souls that drives them.

 Our young men also have left their vocation behind to participate in his mission. You can see that the work has taken its toll on all of us, Abel for the most part has handled very well and we glorify God for that.

Once refreshed we got back on the road, en route to Bodi and our Beds if God wills.

Pablo passed some gospel tracts to the police men at the check point and they delightedly accepted it but screamed at us when they realized that it was not money that he had given to them and we all bust out laughing. I learnt that they took bribe from all bus drivers and must have assumed they were getting some at this time.

20:00

I was strongly led to have a one on one with one of our daughters, to listen to the challenges of teenage and growing up in her world. Joan and I nursed her last year when she was seriously ill, we have since developed some serious affection for her and come to love and care for her and to take care of her basic needs.
We were so tired by the time we hit our beds and called it a wonderful day once again

ESPAÑOL

SAYE al Amanecer

Sister Flow

11:00Había 47 personas en la asistencia para la sesión de adoración de la mañana, la hermana Florence dirigio la sesión de alabanza y animó a las mujeres a despertar y tomar su posición en Cristo. Me da mucha alegría a ver el nivel de empoderamiento en la vida de algunos de nuestras hermanas aquí.
 Anime a los hermanos de la Iglesia a mantener la esperanza de nuestra victoria en Cristo cálido y siempre fresco y saber que nuestra vocación es más grande que la vida del individuo en la tierra y por esta razón no debemos dejar que las cosas de esta vida nos aleje de la esperanza de nuestra vida eterna en la presencia de Dios.
Comparti mi testimonio de cómo el enemigo había atacado a mi esposa embarazada tratando precionarme a dejar de hacer este viaje de la misión, la semana que pasamos en la sala de maternidad pensando que nuestra hija iba a nacer prematuro.                                                                 

Les conte  cómo estaba deprimido por el persimismo extremo del equipo médico y cuán negativo de sus predicciones habían sido hasta que llegué a un acuerdo con el hecho de que tengo que ignorar sus informes y que el informe del Señor, que dijo que "Por su llaga fuimos nosotros curados" que Dios hará que su bendición  desbordarse en nuestra vida y criar a una herencia para sí mismo a través de nosotros Halleluja!                                                                   Yo les dije que Dios hizo posible que su nombre sea glorificado y que tanto la madre y el bebé están bien y estables ahora. Después de mi testimonio, dos personas se levantaron para decir que ellos se sintieron profundamente conmovidos y desafiados porque no se dio por vencido cuando se produjo este problema y cómo esto les ha stired a la fe y una confianza más profunda en el Señor, uno de ellos era un buen hombre joven llamado Geoffrey.

Abel con los Niños

Mi testimonio era el preludio del corto sermón de Pablo, quien habló sobre la historia de nuestra guerra espiritual, trazando el origen de la lucha con el diablo-La guerra que comenzó en el jardín del Edén y termina con la muerte del hijo de Dios en una cruz Romana, y de la victoria que tenemos en Cristo si se acepta su sacrificio por la redención de nuestros pecados.
15 personas salieron durante la llamada al altar, y oró por su salvación y luego oró por aquellos que desean reconciliarse con Dios y después pusimos en marcha la hora llamada  la "curación ha comenzado" la sesión. "Chango se  Cha Kore" y todos lo corearon al unísono y el aire

estaba tan cargado con esta confesión, la gente parecía estar encendidas por la idea y comenzamos a orar por los enfermos y confesar la curación de sus vidas y sus familias.

 Oramos por las familias en la curación y la sanación en las relaciones. Que Dios puede renovar todas las relaciones rotas y las familias y que el poder del Espíritu Santo puede fluir en la vida de todos nosotros y restaurarnos a sí mismoAl final del  tiempo de oración, fuimos a ver el tereno que ha sido adquirido para la nueva iglesia y orar sobre la tierra para que Dios nos traiga 

los recursos para su edificación

Our Medical Aid Team

Almorzamos, excelente pollo con sabor a nada de lo que he probado en mucho tiempo, no por la experiencia culinaria aplicada como en la calidad de carne de pollo utilizada. Era tan bueno y de un gusto super rico y natural
15:45Salimos y nos dirigimos de Saye  rumbo Sondu y el Señor nos salvo de atropellar a un motociclista temerario que cruzó delante de nuestro autobús a toda velocidad, y Dios nos salvó de esa trampa tendida por el enemigo para causar un accidente y  posiblemente una muerte.17:30Llegamos a Sondu y se detuvo para llenar el neumático y refrescarse con un poco de coca-cola y estirar las piernas porque  habíamos tirado 3 días de duración de la ministración constante e intensiva, y viajando por caminos polvorientos y con las mismas ropas puestasLas mujeres en nuestro equipo son muy valientes, todas han dejado sus familias para ir con nosotros y que no puedo dejar de respetar el amor y la determinación con la que sirven a Dios y la gran pasión por las almas perdidas que las impulsan.

 Nuestros jóvenes también han dejado atrás su vocación particulares para participar en esta misión. Usted puede ver que el trabajo ha hecho mella en todos nosotros, Abel en su mayor parte ha manejado muy bien y glorificamos a Dios por eso porque el ha aguantado estos dias sin sus pastillas que le hacia mucha falta.Una vez actualizado estamos de nuevo en la carretera, rumbo al pueblo Bodi y a nuestras camas si Dios quiere.
Pablo pasó algunos tratados evangelio a los hombres de la policía en el punto de control y lo aceptaron encantados, pero uno gritó a nosotros cuando se dieron cuenta de que no era el dinero que él les había dado y nos pusimos  a reír. Me enteré de que ellos tomaron soborno de todos los conductores de autobús y debe haber supuesto que estaban recibiendo algunos en este momento.
20:00 Mantuve una charla muy interesante con una de nuestras hijas, para escuchar de los desafíos de la adolescencia y lo que supone crecer en su mundo. Joan y yo cuidó de ella el año pasado cuando estaba gravemente enferma,y desde entonces la hemos cogido mucho cariño para ella y llegar a amar y cuidar de ella y encargarnos de sus necesidades básicas.Cuando nos fuimos a dormir ya estabamos todos muy cansados

Day-5: @Kisumu-Sabatia Eye Clinic.

 @Sabatia Eye Hospital Kenya

06:30.

I had my morning devotion and woke the rest of the team up for our morning meditation and prayer.

It was such a fresh morning and the sweet smell of wet soil, and vegetation was saturated the living room where we sat. It rained heavily the night before and we were delighted to have some less turbid water for bath this morning. Abel had adjusted to the horror of splashing coffee colored water on his skin and is doing quite well at it.

We were joined by Peter, Max and Jeff, all young pastors who take care of us and of our needs. They have come to help us with our morning preparations, to boil our bathing water, provide us with any extra needs and to take our cloths to the ladies to wash-I thought of my white shirts in that water and quickly whiped it off my mind.

We assembled at the pastors house for brake fast and were delighted to see that the whole team were there waiting for us to come. We all sat down for brakefast, and it delighted Pablo and Abel to enjoy tea time with the church member and to crack jokes and ask questions while we enjoyed our meals.

Pablo noted that naturally the people were all silent and he had asked me the first night if something was wrong, and I responded that children are raised here not to talk while eating to avoid chocking on the food, and that it is bad manners to talk with a full mouth (I guess it is everywhere)

Qualitative Eye Treatment.

We took the Patients for the eye clinic in the bus and went around trying to track other people on our Medical list of last year who are yet to be treated; some of them are going for cataract operations. It was such a tough undertaking finding them notwithstanding that they have all been contacted prior to this time and informed it was just hard getting them. Some of them live in very unaccesible places while others were just not reachable at the time. Two people we realised have died withing the past few months.

We had a total of 16 persons in the bus including Dalton our adopted son, who was diagnosed last year with some eye problem that we hope to address squarely this time around.

11:00

We left Bodi and headed for Kisumu arriving @13:10, we went through the Banking district to change some forex against possible medical expenses.

We left Kisumu for sabati as we went through this lovely region, I quietly drank in the serenity and beauty of the landscape and felt Gods peace washing all over me.

The roads were quite narrow and I got the impression that the vehicles moved a tad too fast for such roads and conditions but at anyrate we made it safely to the Friends Church Clinic at Sabati

15:30 @ Friends Church Clinic, Sabati.

Friends Eye Hospital Sabatia

I learned this is the best eye Clinic in the region hence we have come such long way to be seen here.

The personnel were so friendly and nice, yet quite profesional and efficient, for hardly had we arrived and they were already attending to our patients, preparing those with more serious eye problem for extensive examinations and possible surgeries.

The clinic is beautifully build and tended, the lawns are green and the flowers fresh and lovely giving of a very positive healing effect. The total ambiance was quite tranquil and peaceful.

A serving of Tilapia and Ugali 

After all our patients have undergone treatments, we bought the prescribed drugs and eye glasses from the clinic, 3 of them have to return at a future date to continue treatments. I am quite satisfied with the progress made so far and our friends and delighted too.

One patient is 19 year old boy whose life ambition is threatened by his eye problems, he wants to be a doctor and is bright enough to actualize that goal,but his sight had made the challenge even harder.

The other one is a 16year old girl who wants to be a Journalist and News presenter, and is quite determined to pursue her life's ambition if her sight would let her. I promised to find her a female mentor to help mold her dreams.

After the treatments we headed back towards Kisumu.

Tilapia Fish Restaurant

We went to the Lake side shack restaurant, where we had had such wonderful servings of Tilapia fish, and this year we got such wonderful deal and quality; for 200Ksh we had a plate of ledge size fish and ugali (the local dough made of corn mill)

After our late lunch we went to Tursky Super Market to buy some provisions for ourselves and for some families we want to bless.

Dalton Shopping for Toys

It was Daltons Day Out and he went wild in the toy section, I was delighted to see just how delighted he was to see so much fun and to think that he could have some of them. It was his first time shoping at the mall and it made a huge impact on him

20:30.

Dalton @Lake Victoria

We left Kisumu for Bodi and the driver drove like an ex-F1 driver, I simply focused on my iBook and tried not to think of what was happening on the road in front of me since there was pretty little I that I can do about it, I tried to sooth Dalton whom I had to carry on my legs all the time because otherwise we would have had problems with the police at the ubiquitous post on the roads.

It was late by the standards of this place and the roads were pitch black, I had confidence that God will keep us safe and protect us from any harms or terror of the underworld.

We approached a police post and met some officers, who are known to our friends, we took them as escorts till we came to the road junction that will take us off the main road unto the dust tracks that leads back to Bodi.

I breathed easy because we are off the area of potential risks and that we have let go of those two with fully loaded sub-machine guns in our vehicle.

Shortly after this it started to drizzle and eventually rain heavily, making the roads tricky to drive on especially since we have to ascend some 70º+ on rugged muddy tracks, and I was not so sure of the conditions of the tyres. I kept my heart strong in silent prayer even when the propeller shaft started to make some racky noise. In the end and through it all we made it gingerly but safely home to the other side

22:30

We were soaked and hungry and had some very hot chocolate and milk before we went to our quarter

Day-4: @Rakwaro Church

Joan Academy @Rakwaro

06:30

I woke up and had my personal quiet time, then I called Pablo and Abel to join me. We sang and prayed together before our friends Max, Peter and Paul came to help us get started for the day (fix us some hot water for bath, straighten our cloths etc)

08:45 -

We had a warm breakfast of fresh cow milk and sachet Nescafe with some sandwich made of hydrogenated oil,(not my best option but good) I realized that today I will not have some avocado with it because we have ran out of stock.

9:30-

We were supposed to have the vehicle ready to take us to Rakwaro but it is now late-I was told that the had gone to fix the generator at Sondu for film projection tonight at Rakwaro

We set out on foot towards Rakwaro and called the bus driver to meet us on the way. We sang some spiritual war songs, exulting God that He is the most high God, That He is the God of war and of peace, That He is the King of all Kings.

As we went I reflected on the words that the Lord has put in my mouth for this erring church that had broken away from the main body of the Church, following a leader whom we had all loved and trusted but who for some reason had allowed the enemy to deceive her leading her to draw a large portion of believers away with her.

This has been the biggest burden on my heart since March this year and many people around the world have been praying for what God will do in this church and somehow I find it imminent that today will be D-Day

We were finally met by the bus and for the next half hour to 45 minutes we bounced toward Rakwaro on the earth road that the good Lord had watered to dampen the dust that normally would be some problem when we drive on it.

We were met by a group of Toddlers and Kids excitedly chanting “Welcome, our visitors, we will never never forget you” and there was something in their spirit that seem to reflect the fact that they meant what they were singing.

They took us to Joan daycare and Kindergarten and I was amazed by the level of progress they have made with all the challenges and obstacles that they have had to scale since January when they started the school.

Nursery Class Room

It was last year after we saw the large number of orphans and in attended children that the Lord put it in our hearts to charge them with the task of starting a daycare center and voiler! They made it happen and with the scarcest of resources.

The school Patron Mr Samuel Odongo, a dedicated man of excellent disposition, introduced the staff and committee members and reenacted the moments we lived last year when we visited their community and the impact it had on all of them. How this had motivated them to put all hands on deck to get the project going. The school was named after my wife Joan.

The Kids gave us a performance and I was particularly touched by one open letter to AIDS, in which the little girl queried AIDS “who are your and what is your color?” you take away our parents and leave us orphans, AIDS please leave us alone”

Feeding the Kids

I started the exposition on Eph 6 and used the life story of Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon to illustrate our spiritual warfare, how a small group of men were able to subdue the vast armies of Darius of Persia. That what Alexander lacked in stature he gain in statue, his code of discipline and singleness of purpose was unrivaled-that while the Persian armies were arrayed in elegant and flamboyant attires, Alexander formed a formidable phalanx that in his time was the most dreaded weapon of warfare, impermeable to all kind of martial attack.

This is made up of a thousand able bodied men stand in files of 16 rows,

The men who constituted this Phalanx must all be fit and strong to bear their shield and the long spear that would point forward to stop any charge that would come against them.

I encouraged them to put aside all forms of idle thinking to become focused on the objective, not to be driven by gain or grains but to look on to the Lord for the glory of His kingdom, to conduct some spiritual exercise that would make us all fit to hear the shield of faith and stop all the firerry darts the enemy will shoot at us.

As I was still speaking and the power of God came on all the people some busted into tears and others cried openly and their was a small commotion at the time that I had o stop for the pains to ooze out. We prayed for about half hour and they were all crying out to the Lord – I could not make out what they said because they cried in Luo but what does it matter, the Lord knows.

We prayed some prayer of reconciliation and deliverance from sin, hate and anger to be filled with the spirit of of peace, love and unity.

After the solemn moments we went up to where they have prepared lunch for our team and for all the people in attendance, I counted about 200 including the children.

Our medical team had gone to their station to commence treatment immediately-I went to take a look and inspect them.

Medical Aid Workers

I am impressed by the high level of order and organization here-They had listed all the patients to b seen and seated them accordingly so this made them to work very efficiently and no one complained. This shows that a lot of lessons have been learnt from last year when it was chaotic here and people complained.

We treated 30 malaria cases, some gastrointestinal, Cough and others on the whole 57 cases.

We gave out drugs to mothers to de-worm the children, 40 units on the whole.

It give me lots of satisfaction to see the glee with which the kids are stuffing their faces and to think that this is the best of what they might have ever had in their lives, not some insipid awful mix but real well made food for a change-This is my joy!! I know that they need more than one meal, but am sure tomorrow they will be in our next meeting for yet another good meal. Someday God willing they wont have to chase plates of food no more! Food will come to them

19:45

The power generator was not ready on time so we had to leave Rakwaro for Bodi where we eventually projected the Passion of Christ-First of its Kind in this village; it was on a 4x4 Meter screen that we made out of whit sheets last year. The projector has such excellent luminance and contrast that the film just stood out in the pitch dark for all to see.

22:20

We had to stop the movie because it was threatening to rain, so we dismantled the PA system and other electronics.

We had our dinner and retired for the day

SafariMissions 2011

Safari missions blog DAY-1&2

Cairo @Night

The flight from Barcelona went very smoothly and the food was not that bad, I chose chicken and "jollof" rice over pasta and I don't-know-what.

 I thought deeply of all the people who may have gone this way over the years and wondered what was on their minds as they went; What were their dreams and what was it that kept them going against all odds? Which Was it,gain or glory? For it is
hard for anyone to be driven without some strong personal convictions or motivation, if the truth is to be spoken.

 I asked myself what my motivations were? WHAT IS YOUR DRIVING FORCE? I asked myself,and as our plane navigated a nasty turbulence that churned my bowel, my brain turned in reverse, searching the innermost part of my being for the reason behind my commitment to this cause especially in times like this one when I had every motive to relent.

 I realized that Glory It is! my deepest force lies
1. In the joy of seeing a turnaround happen in the life of someone, say a child destined for ruins;Seeing how my little contribution have gone long ways to transform lives, in all the places that God in His mercies had led us to make a difference.
2.The ultimate glory of being clothed with immortal radiance with Christ and to hear Him say to me on that faithful day "WELCOME HOME MY SON! You have done well!" The thoughts of Christ saying WELL DONE to me, fills me with uncanny abilities and great energy.

Egypt:17/7/11
Arrive:-20:10
Departure :-22:03 we roll out from docking bay and taxied to the runway, the nice voice of the flight attendant says we have 4 hrs 40 to Nairobi.
the voice of the imam saying prayer before take off struck me with somber reflection on the importance of faith  in our lives and how people of God often neglect the vital importance of being at peace with God, not just when you entrust your life in harms way but more so at all times. FLIGHING IS RISKY BUSINESS no matter what anyone says.
23:38 I repaire  myself to the business of reading some article on Strategy and Church planting, I would have loved to sleep but that luxury simply eludes me at this moment. Pablo is listening to weird music playing on one of the channels while Abel, who sits behind us, is busy working very hard on making friends with his neighbor a handsome lady that looked very Dutch to me, honing his ability to converse with his limited knowledge of English language
  02:22 @last I was able to sleep a wink but now I must fill out one of those forms you always wonder why they make you fill.
Now we brace for the bumpy flight down to the dark Nairobi Tarmac. TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY

Nairobi: 18/7/11
Arrival:-touch down is @02:37 a very hard landing that squeezed a cry out of a bunch of people, the lady by me yelled something in a strange language, Pablo who was not paying attention was visibly shaken otherwise we are all in one good healthy piece .
Departure:-

DAY17:24/08/10 (Fort Jesus: Mombasa Kahama)

"Prince Peter & Infanta Raquel."

Morning: Joan and I slept in today and left for Mombasa town as soon as we had finished our prayer time and breakfast.

We strolled down the cool Bombari Avenue and got to the shopping Mall in about 45min-Joan complained that the sun was too hot so we got a free ride from a good citizen who took us to the mall in his car.

Noon: We took the Matatu to the city center and stopped at the General Post Office from where we strolled to the historic Fort Jesus, Our tour guide “Jack” was a very brilliant young man of about 33yrs who spoke excellent English, his manners were so nice that he impressed both Joan and I immediately-Easy and kind personality, gentle and very patient with us. Though he was somewhat tipsy we could'nt help but love this young man.

A Model of Fort Jesus.

His rendition of the historic facts and his deep bass timbre reminded me of Lorne Green and his “The Last of the Wild”

He took us through the coral carved spaces and the Museum and the whole of the Man shaped Fort build by The Portugues explorer, Vasco Da Gama.

Coral Walled Entrace

After the tour we were so satisfied with him that we gave him more than 5times his original asking price (though I had haggled with him earlier to get a very good discount before the tour of the fort and the old city)
We prayed that God would reveal Himself to this young man and many like him around this place-So full of potentials but with little or no opportunities to make anything out of it. Our hearts melted for him and we agreed to keep in touch with him and reach out to him as much as we can.

DAY18:25/08/10 ( Mombasa Kahama Beach Hotel)

Joan and I decided that we are staying “home” today and to hang around the pool side at most.

DAY16:23/08/10 ( Bamburi Beach: Mombasa)

Morning: For the very first time in many days we slept-in and did not have to be up@ 08:00, we went down to the pool side for breakfast.
Our breakfast was made up of a bowl of wheatbiscuits and flakes cold milk, then Spanish eggs and toast (brown) bread with some bacon and susages which we politely ignored.

The hotel staff were so nice you wondered if they were real people, but yes they were and very much so when they are not on the job (we ran into Ali whom we nicknamed Alibaba, once and he was supper nice on the street too, big smile very warm and happy interaction with us)

Joan had a cup of Kericho tea while I had some coffee (we drank our cups with relish reflecting flavor of the time we spent with the people who actually grow and havest these products-we passed a tea plantation near Sotik on our way to Sondu some couple of days back.

Days flow quite slowly here and we did our best to make the most of them. We went out to the shopping mall to buy some food stuff and had to take the famous Matatu (mini bus) for 20 Ksh. (20cents)

Noon: We went for a walk on the beach but most of us were disappointed when we saw how dirty and how unkempt the place was, but strange enough Peter and Raquel loved it and seemed trilled by how soft and sweet the sand was and we all agreed that the people were super nice and friendly and quite entertaining

We haggled with sellers of divers gift items; we also got a good deal to go out and see the marine park and to do some snorkeling.

Some of us had some issues with the whole process of haggling for everything, but it was fun for me and I enjoyed it a lot and I bet the people here love to have that human exchange that is very central to the African way of life.


Evening: We went on a 10 min ride on the Matatu (mini bus) to the Nakumatt shopping mall to buy some groceries and to have a look around

We found the place to be nice and neat.

We made our own lunch in the penthouse kitchen and sat around the table for lunch like one happy family. (Joan and I went out, sometime later to check out some of the nearby hotels and were amazed at how much price value we have at Kahama and wondered how they managed to keep the prices as low as under $17 per person/night (minimum room price) Cecilia and Joan made the food while Caesar and I help with some other tasks.

Joan was not feeling very strong so we let her have some rest and prayed for her speedy recovery

Night: We all went downstairs to the bar area to hang out while they sprayed the apartment with insecticides to eliminate the mosquitoes .

Peter and Raquel were already there having a drink and watching the Manchester Liverpool match on big screen.

Marina and Cecilia were there together while Caesar was nowhere to be found, probably he had gone back to his room early?

Joan and I chatted a bit with our new-found German friend Wagner who has two wonderful daughers of which the oldest is Melanie (11yrs) and her younger sister.

He told us that he works with some Lutheran ministers around the Oyugis area where we had spent about 3 days during our mission outreach. He gave us some of the contact addresses and phone numbers. He and his daughters will be heading to Eldoret by weekend he said.

I found it quite amazing how he handled the girls alone, because their mother who is Kenyan, was back in Germany while he stayed back with the girls.

" Kenya Kaptivated"

We had ample time to share our mission and vision for the people of Kenya and found some helpul insights in what he shared about his own experience working here for the past 12 years.

It was crystal clear to us that there is something captivating about this place and about the people that keep you hooked once you've had a taste of it. Our prayer is that God keep the fire of our passion burning to glorify Him among the nations of this region.

DAY15:22/08/10 ( Goodbye Amboseli Park )

Sunrise Africa: Mombasa.

Since we had done an all day game drive the previous day, we had no other option than to zoom off immediately for Nairobi so as to catch the 13:00 bus to Mombasa..unavoidable to go back to Nairobi to catch a public transport rather than pay the obscene price that private transport would have cost us.

The journey from Amboseli back to Nairobi seemed senseless if you consider that at Amboseli we were closer to Mombasa but the reality on ground due to available infrastructures made it

Mombasa:

Oxygen Bus to Mombasa.

We were met by Maricus who had just come from Mombasa where had some business. He came with the video projector that I had given him for safe keeping but I told him that we still need him to store it and most of the other stuff we left with him.

The bus ride to Mombasa was an 8hr tiresome stretch which was made easier by the interior comfort.
The bus driver drove like a bat out of hell on a truck infested single lane stretch of road. Raquel who sat in "1st", First class Seat said that at one time he controlled the steering wheel with his tommy and at other times with his elbow, while he talked on his cell phone. A clear recipe for disaster but God was on our side all the way-I blessed God who did not let me see any of these.

Sheila, from  our tour operator had booked "first class" seats for all of us@1400ksh each, and for me she had booked an executive seat but Joan would hear none of that so I had to give up my 1600ksh seat for Caesar whom I eyed all the way as he enjoyed the extra large (former airplane business class) seat all the way to Mombasa. Poor me :(

We reached Mombasa@21:00 and we had the bus taxi waiting for us Nasir who arranged for the bus was there also and he made sure that we were safely delivered to the hotel. (Kahama Beach hotel Bombari)

@home in Bamburi Kahama apartment.

We found our accomodation to be excellent for the price at which we got it, especially when we checked out other nearby hotels and realised that we had better rooms for 1/3 of what the others cost.

We retired to our beautiful apartment for the night after over 13 hours on the road.

DAY14:21/08/10 ( Amboseli National Park2)

The Clash of the Titans?

Morning: We started the day very early today just so we could see the rising sun and the Majestic Kilimanjaro (my o my, is this mountain beautiful, it is massive. So huge you can't see it is there because it just rises right into the high heavens and everything around it seems quite small)

Simba.

We had the good fortune of seeing the King Simba during this early morning drive. It is amazing just how many people wanted to photograph the Lion, and just how each and every one of us struggled to get the best shot at the Lion.


I was put off to some extent when I saw the tracking collar around its neck because it made me wonder if it would be worth my while running around taking photos of a dog with collar around its neck? I somehow would have wished that it was a lion that no man or woman, had ever    touched.

The lion observed nonchalantly as a heard of zebras grazed under the early morning sun- our guide Moses, was saying that the Wildebeest graze with the zebras because they alert them when danger is imminent because the Zebras has better eye sight and the former has poor sight and are quite dumb.

@10 am we went back for a Brunch; and excellent feast made up of Chapati, salad with cheese and white rice with a unique flavor that came from the burned rice at the bottom of the pot. The stew had lamb meat in it and was very delicious.

 Masai Caesar.

We all ate and headed for the Masai village where we were greeted by a troop of Masai warriors who did a clasic Masai dance for us.

Their young chief who introduced himself as Joseph told us some interesting stories about the Masai and their culture and explained in details the procedure for the building of Masai house.

Noon: We left the Masai Village and headed out for our evening game drive, we saw all the regular animals, the ubiquitous elephants, some herds of Thomson gazelles, wilder-beast,

Joan & some Masai women.

We went up to the observation station where we saw the whole expanse of the park. We read that that mountain on which the station was built was formed by volcanic activities from Kilimanjaro and that the lake nearby came from melting ice from the same mountain.

After the observation post we went a rather boring evening drive, almost roaming aimlessly around the empty game land-We were rewarded by a pare of Hippopotamus sunken in the swamplands and some white flamingo. The sight was a far-cry from the majestic pink mass of flamingos at lake NAKURU


Evening: We retired at Kibo tent camp, and immediately we loved the place and felt quite at home taking photos and hanging out with other guests at the lodge.

Sunset Africa: Amboseli Park.

Some went off to have a drink at the bar while some tried to catch the last rays of the setting African sun-Agnieszka took advantage of the orange sun rays to make portrait of all members of the team.

We had a lavish dinner and went to bed in our dark tents

SAFARI BEGINS.

DAY13:20/08/10 ( Amboseli National Park1)

It was a little mess this morning as we tried to pay for the safari, finding where to draw cash after we had sent all our Kenya shillings for the mission at Oyugis.

Huxley was so sad and his sadness was somehow contagious. He will have to go back and face the reality of not having his new-found friends and the joy of the past few days

DAY12:19/08/10 ( Kobala Church)

Morning: Huxley surprised me with the news that our transporter has declined from taking us back to Nairobi, so we had to make an ad-hoc transport arrangement. We sent him to Kiisi to get two shuttle mini vans. This he did and came back with two descent gentle men and their Nisan vans.

Our stop over at Kobala was very brief but rich and we quickly had our lunch and said our good byes-Tears and hugs were ubiquitous, people hung on necks and many promises were made on this day.

We left Kobala just after 13:00hrs and raced toward Kiisi and Nairobi.

We entered Nairobi after dusk and retired at Kahama hotel.

Many of us could not stop talking about the way the drivers drove, winding in and out of trafic at hair raising speed.

DAY11:18/08/10 ( Sayi Church)

Morning: Hospital Visit.The drive to Saye was quite rough but we stopped on the way to visit the Hospital and distribute the materials Dacil and the rest had put together for them.

We stopped over last night to talk with the nurse in Charge and to know how many children we have in the wards.

We visited 15 children with their parents, 11 newborn with their mothers and 6 women in maternity ward-We also gave away some materials to other wards.

While we toured the maternity ward, I was moved by one particular incidence involving a lady that grabbed the stuffed animal in the pack I was handing out to her, hugging it to herself, completely ignoring all the other provisions in the bag-I wondered what it was in this woman's life that drove her to act in this way and if she would be willing to open up-we prayed with her and each and every

patient in the ward.

It was such fun to meet sister Margaret again; we reflected on the good times we shared during our last visit The only difference now is that we are meeting at her home rather than her uncles place (which is more modern and has more facilities)

I still feel weak and drained and did my best to rest when ever I can-We all danced and rejoiced before God as the Band sand and played to the glory of God. Wilson the lead vocalist is good and has this way of getting everyone on their feet.

Noon: Pastor Rose was called to do the Niwewe Buana song, which she led and got everyone whipped to a deep state of Spiritual elation

The house evangelism team left and the sex education team were showing their presentation in one of the nearby houses.

The rest were having fellowship with the people and counseling them-Our adopted daughter Linnet was there with her mother and so also was our little boy Dalton. His gran mother told us that he cried each time we went back to our hotel. Dalton is such fun to have around because he is such a lively kid and very energetic. A far cry from the sad and pained boy me met a year ago.

He has become the pet of our team and all the kids in each village quickly came to that realization and treated him like a prince.

Night: We went back to our Vesture Villa hotel @ Oyugis, the hotel is an unfortunate disappoint, and smelled of burning cinder half of the time because they cooked everything on firewood.

When I complained that I needed hot water for my bath, they brought me hot water in a basin, incredible! But at least that was room service at its best and not even the smell of smoke in the water kept me from enjoying a pleasurable hot bath that night-Glory to God!

I stayed up very late(midnight) going over the travel plans with Huxley and giving him the money needed to get the extra transport for our crew tomorrow.

Joan was mad@me for coming late to bed.

DAY9:16/08/10 (Kabondo Church) The Church Under a Tree.

Bigger Church, Bigger Tree.

When Jesus Says Yes Nobody Can say No!

The evangelism squad has gone out with Caesar and Jagoda, to preach to the people and pray or the sick.

Facing Challenging Situations.

We encountered lots of heart moving needs in this place, many spiritual and material needs that put so much pressure on our already depleted resources.

The medical team made notes of all the needs that we cannot meet on the spot while they prayed for some of them and administered treatments for those within our reach.

The Pastor of this church Emmanuel has endeared himself to Joan and already talked with her about going to a Bible college to widen his scope in ministry and to be able to help train some of his people in ministry.

"Cool Kabondo Cooks"

Patty and the other girls were very helpful in getting our meal ready on time (which we have all come to accept as when ever the food is ready-Pole-pole, hakuna-super-matata; no hurry take life easy)

Kids Playing with Team members.

Evening: When we received our farewell gifts from the Church we prayed under the Tree Church, The Pastor (Emmanuel) made an appeal on behalf of the member for us to help them get a church house to protect them from the elements.

Kabondo Kids.

I stood up and took in the surrounding green mountain side with the cool fresh breeze washing all over us, the sight was beautiful and the experience refreshing, I wondered if the members of this church realize what a blessing it is to worship God in this beautiful place? In response I reminded them that the last time we visited them they were under a much smaller tree but that God has widened their coast and today we stand under a much bigger tree with much more people worshiping Him here.

I told them what the Lord said to Zerubabel, “do not despise the days of small things” for it is not by power nor by might but by my Spirit says the Lord of host.

DAY10:17/08/10 ( Ringa Church)

Morning: After our morning devotion we moved to the new hotel transferring our base camp from SONDU to OYUGIS.

The hotel is more spacious and more expensive ($5 per person including breakfast, @ sondu w paid $2,50 per person but without breakfast) but I miss the compactness and simplicity of the Sondu base camp (PEBO Guest house)


We left Oyugis for Ringa and got there within half hour and started off at once-we were introduced and I preached on the Fullness of Christ with emphasis on the unity in the God head as the origin of our unity in Christ.

We also looked at life in Christ as eternal and that those who live in Christ will never die.

Dacil had her sex education with video projection and had quite a group of about 40 women, Joan was there to take photos while Marina met with older women whom she thought how to make ear rings and other handcraft stuff-Dalton was in her class representing the male folks.

I talked with Brother Ken whose brother is living with HIV/AIDS and we tried to figure out how to help him, his wife and two kids who are all HIV positive.

Jagoda and Agnieszka were busy with the sick and Cecilia and Mercy were assisting while Cesar took Photos for our records

I feel so tired and worn out, I had malaria symptoms (high fever and head ache) since yesterday but the people prayed for me and now I feel much stronger though still recovering my strength and feeling a little bit dizzy.

The food is not ready as at this moment (15:30) but I hope that we eat any moment from now.

DAY-8:15/08/10 (Sondu Church Founded)

On the way to Church.

Morning: We inaugurated (Peter) Wilson Welbon Church at Sondu town today, the glory of the Lord was all over us all as we sang and danced before the newly rented church hall.

The Church was named after Brother Peter Wilson, for his works and service to the people of Sondu, The next church that will be opened after we are gone will be called The Agnieszka Welbon Church, named after “Dr”Agnieszka, the Church is named after the dentist who had worked each day with Jagoda, Cecilia and the Peter and Mercy (Kenyans) to treat people with all kinds of diseases ranging from minor sores to cancerous growths.

The more serious conditions she refers to hospitals and we pay for them to be diagnosed and treated as we go.

Inaugural Church Service

I do not believe in coincidence and when it turned out that we had set our Crusade equipment right in front of an empty shop which later would become the only Church at Sondu. Glory to God!

We (ICB team) are still going through a lot of difficulties and cultural adaptation issues, some of us were not happy that the local leaders showed up each day for breakfast and that we had to take care of their costs, but the Lord helped us to deal with the complaints that arose from that situation.



The good thing is that God has blessed our team with a very high level of understanding and openness, understanding and love that makes it possible for us to trash out any discord before it grows wings-that was how we all dealt with this situation and resolved the misunderstanding before it turned into bitterness and resentment.



On the other hand I had to explain to the local team the cultural differences and help them understand the need to be sensitive to some of the issues at stake.

Our meals have been late and this was a constant source of disappointments but I tried to help our team to get more Hakuna Matata (I told them to throw away their watches and forget their time tables at home)

Joan and I were somewhat sad because our efforts to “adopt” a teenage daughter has caused some problems for the local leadership.

We found this sweet teenage girl of about 11 that we had picked out right from the crowd and we just loved her and she connected with us right away,

Children Sunday School.

We later found out that she is a straight A kid who had lost her Dad and may not be able to have further education. We asked to meet with her mother and eventually realized that her mother had issues with the Church leadership because she had been accused of disrespectful behaviors towards the general overseer.



Joan and I have no intention to judge this people but we also cannot forgo such a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the life of this brilliant girl-we do not want to be caught in the crossfire of local politics and power play but we are set to Make A Difference some how to the glory of God

KISUMU: Visit to the Proposed Site for Our Learning Center.

Team @Kisumu Land.

Noon: We went to the Lake Victoria water front-this is the largest Lake in the whole of Africa and the fish here is great!!

Jagoda said that her dad did not like fish but he ate the whole lot to the bones, and so did I and Joan, well everybody else as well.



The fresh fish was deep fried in oil and served with Ugali (wheat meal dough) and some cooked vegetables and we all ate with heart warming zest.

Someone suggested going on a boat ride but when I tried to negotiate with the boat men I realized that it would take more time than we had so I waved them away but when they persisted some members of out team figured that they could do some 15 min, drive around in near waters so I walked them to the boat to make sure all is ok and that I got the details of the people responsible for their safety and that all health and safety measures were in place (as much as the environment would allow) they had the life jacket and two boats men. I could not go because my wife Joan was scare of water and there was no way on earth I can leave her by herself which was a shame because I craved the kick of that adventure but anyways I can always do it next time if Jesus allows it.



Robert (Jagoda's Dad was ill and very restless,so we prayed silently for his speedy recovery, I wanted us to get going so we can go see the 2acre land we intend to buy for the project-The girls were all grouped together somewhere down the dirt road and I wondered why they were not in a hurry to board the van until someone told me some of them were “answering natures call” in the bush around the water front



The land is 15 min from city center and a Tursky shopping mall, and 4 min from the main road and bus transport. Ultra flat land that overlooked a mountain range, in one word it was celestial out there

There was a government school siting right across the plot and a sub station (electricity) nearby.

We held hands and prayed over the land and claimed it to the glory of God.



It was almost 2hr later when we returned to our hotels at Sondu, the van was loosing compression and he ride was slow. (The driver would later find out that the rings were bad and would send to have it fixed. God had helped us because we were not stranded though the van stopped on our way to Kisumu but we got out the tools and fixed the problem.